COCHRANE: Final 6 a key part of AUS strategy

The passion may finally be gone from Atlantic University Sport’s love affair with the Final 8.

It was certainly a durable relationship.

The CIS men’s basketball tournament was hosted here for 24 straight years, from 1984 to 2007. Then the inconceivable happened. An Ottawa bid took the tournament from Halifax for three years.

Sure, the AUS countered with a more expensive bid than usual to win it back for the past two years. But eventually the AUS brass realized the bidding game had become too costly and too risky for this small conference. This, in turn, opened the door for Ottawa to again claim hosting rights, starting this year.

By now, even the most ardent of local Final 8 supporters must appreciate why the AUS opted not to continue competing for the tournament.

Most of its reasons continue to be valid today. There’s the financial risk — AUS officials consider the CIS’s guaranteed profit to be too high — the bidding process and tight deadlines. Then there’s the uncertainty of trying to secure strong financial partners. And finally, there’s the AUS mandate to focus more on internal championships.

When the AUS held a news conference this week to promote the AUS Final 6 men’s regional basketball championship March 1-3 in Halifax, there was no moaning about the loss of the national Final 8.

In fact, there was consensus that the conference is on the right path by concentrating on its own tournaments.

“We just went through a strategic planning process here last year,” AUS chairman Phil Currie said at the news conference. “Hosting national championships is not part of our strategic direction going forward. However, we aren’t saying we won’t host national championships. But I think the business case has to be right and everything has to be right to make that move to a national championship.”

True to that theme, events such as the Final 6 have become a key part of the AUS strategy. The tournament represents less financial risk and generally much larger profits than the Final 8. It’s been proven in years when the Final 8 is not in Halifax that the Final 6 becomes the hot ticket here. Also, the AUS is convinced that by adding other forms of entertainment to the weekend draw, such as well-known musicians, it can increase Final 6 numbers. Given this scenario, can we expect the AUS to remain out of the Final 8 hunt for a long time?

Not necessarily.

There’s little doubt the AUS would still like to host both tournaments, as it did for so many years. But that interest would exist only if the Final 8’s financial risks were reduced.

That scenario can’t be ruled out.

If the AUS stands firm by not bidding on future Final 8 tournaments, the CIS may eventually come around to the AUS way of thinking.

Or the AUS may have a change of heart about taking on the Final 8 if it can find a partner willing to assume more of the financial risk.

Mayor Mike Savage, this year’s honorary chairman of the Final 6 tournament, said all the right things at the news conference about the importance of attracting high-profile sporting events to Halifax. Perhaps he can help find more investors for future bids if the AUS someday wants to get back into the national game.

For now, though, the AUS brass is playing it safe and smart. Turning away from the national tournament and putting more focus and resources on a strong regional event is simply good business.

Chris Cochrane is a sports columnist with The Chronicle Herald and the author of Inside the Game.